visitanos

chilean’s slang

We recognized that you liked the other article about “chilenismo” and we think that you are interested in knowing more about how Chilean people speak. Because really it seams that Chilean people sometimes try to setting themselves apart from the rest of South American Spanish.

MI self I didn’t spoke Spanish before I came to chile and I wanted to learn Spanish, so I studied for a while. But only studying you still will have problems to understand some people here… 🙂 so I tried to speak as much as possible with Chileans, but then I had the problem that my teachers told me that if I speak like this in spain, they won’t understand me 🙂 but I like the Chilean Spanish, even if its not very helpful for formal speaking…. So here I will show you some sentences, touch phrases and comparisons that I heard during my time in chile and found all over internet…

First some words you have to know, some of them you already rode the last time, but to fresh up and show you some new ones.

From the verb cachar meaning “to catch,” so “do you catch?” it means the same like “you know?” or “you got it?”

¿Qué onda?

informal way to mean, “what’s going on?” or “how’s it going?” With a little more emphasis and a bit of indignation, ¿qué onda? can mean, “what’s wrong with you?” or “what’s your deal?”

Sipo

“Si” means “yes” and the “po” comes from the Word “pues” wich could be translatet like “well” but Chilean people doesn’t use it only for well, they almost put it at the endd of every expression. For example : Yapo, nopo, no cachai po, donde estai po, tai loco po,….

Completo

This delicious Chilean specialty is nothing more than a grilled hotdog smothered in avocado, chopped tomatoes, and mayonnaise. And it tastes especially good after a party when you have some munchies,…

Carretear

Carretear means “to party!” This phrase is not intended for a 5-year-old’s birthday party; instead, it is reserved for all-night drinking benders, bar-hops and barbeques. Carreterefers to the party it self.

Pololo

The normal Word for boyfriend or girlfriend(polola) here in chile when it isn’t still that serious. When it gets more serious you call It novio o novia, but to call your girlfriend like this you almost have to be promised.

Fome and Bakan

Pronounced “foh me,” this Chilenismo translates best to “lame.” (Example: this party is lame.) The exact opposite is bakan, pronounced “bak án,” meaning “awesome” or “cool.”

Second the comparisons, Chilean people us that very often and I can’t translate them with the sense they have but I think you should understand, at least some of them: Enfatizar una situación, haciendo una comparación graciosa:

– Más prendido que tele de conserje = more on than the televisión of a guardian

– Más raro que paco rubio = stranger than a blond cop

– Más helado que pasillo de yogurt = colder that the corridor where are the yogurt

I hope this will help you to understand a little bit better the chilean people!? and i hope you could laught about the one or the other, even if you are chilean 🙂 i am sure i will learn more to teach you more stuff like this!!

Like this:

What a better way to start a guide than with a short wakeup call about Chilean expressions in order to get fully integrated with locals. Sometimes when you walk into the street there are some words you hear but you cannot understand such as: “cachai?”,“weon”“yapo/sipo/nopo”.. Then you start having doubts about your Spanish standard, but no worry I’ll improve you Spanish slang. But first, a short sum up about Chile, here in Chile we don’t speak Spanish but Castillan from The Castillan Kingdom. Here in Chile we do not pronounce any “S”, then “tres:3” becomes tre (tré), entonces (so…) becomes entonce (entoncé), all right, at least there is one advantage to this strange way of speaking is: no more problem with usted !!

Ayer fue a un carrete en bellavista, demasiado loco huevon, en la manana tuve una cana huevon, bebimo(s) piscola toda la noche…Fue la R(rrr)aja pô! (Yesterday I went to a party in bellavista, it was crazy. But the morning I got a hangover ‘cause we drunk Pisco-coca cola all the night long. It was awesome!)